Nepal flood rescue dogs help teams locate 26 bodies under debris

Kathmandu,UPDATED: Sep 7, 2026 13:50 IST

Sniffer dogs deployed in flood-hit parts of northern and central Nepal have helped rescue teams locate bodies and body parts in the aftermath of last month's devastating floods. Rocky and Jumbo, along with other trained police and paramilitary canines, have been searching through debris left by the August 26 Bhotekoshi floods.

According to a report by Onlinekhabar, the canine teams of Nepal Police and the Armed Police Force (APF) have together helped locate 26 bodies and body parts. A South Korean rescue team has also arrived in Nepal with five canines to assist in the continuing search operation.

Rocky, a Belgian Shepherd, and Jumbo, a German Shepherd, were deployed with their handlers in Timure and Ghattikhola in Rasuwa on August 26, the day the flood struck. Their trained noses have since helped rescuers locate two bodies and a body part. Nepal Police spokesperson Abinarayan Kafle was quoted as saying, "The canines were fully equipped and deployed on the very day the flood came. They have proved to be very effective."

The floods devastated parts of Rasuwa and nearby areas, leaving behind large quantities of debris and raising fears that many missing people may still be buried. The dogs are trained to detect the scent of human remains and alert their handlers, who then direct the search. Their ability to move into narrow spaces and identify bodies beneath rubble has been especially useful in places made unstable and hard to access by floodwaters.

Rocky and Jumbo, both trained in search and rescue, were brought from the Nepal Police Canine Office in Kathmandu. Three days later, two Labradors, Leo and Kalu, were sent from Kathmandu with their handlers to search a wider stretch of the affected areas, including Bidur, Archale, Shantibazar, Mailung Hydropower, Dhunge, Devighat, Betrawati, Bhainse and Battar. Police officials said they helped locate human remains at the employee quarters of Mailung Hydropower-3B and Battar Solar House.

Another team deployed Deepsi, a German Shepherd, from Chitwan. Police records showed that the dog helped locate two bodies at Damouli Golaghat. In all, five Nepal Police dogs and 10 handlers have been deployed in the search and rescue operation.

The APF has also deployed seven canines across affected areas, including Timure, Devighat, Betrawati, Trishuli Bazaar, Dhading and Chitwan, with 14 handlers working with the teams. APF spokesperson Netra Bahadur Karki said the force's canines have helped locate and recover 19 buried bodies. Excavation teams later recovered the bodies from the locations indicated by the dogs, the report said.

The dogs cannot work continuously and need rest after searching for a certain period, with handlers closely monitoring their movements and responses. Nepal has long used sniffer dogs in search-and-rescue operations, including after the 2015 earthquake. Nepal Police began using canines in 1970 after bringing two trained dogs from Malaysia, while the APF set up its canine unit in 2006. The Nepal Army has had a dedicated canine establishment since 1999, but its dogs have not been deployed in the current flood rescue operation and remain on standby, Army spokesperson Rajaram Basnet was quoted as saying.

As the search continues in the flood-hit areas, the dogs remain a key part of the effort, helping teams trace bodies buried under debris where human rescuers cannot easily reach.

With PTI Inputs

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